rof. Rajeev Sijariya is Professor and Former Dean at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee School of Management and Entrepreneurship (ABVSME) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) specializing in Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Management. Co-author, Dr. Ajay Pratap Singh, is a PhD from School of International Studies JNU and currently teaches as Guest Faculty (Political Science) at University of Delhi.
Articles, Diplomacy, Politics, Security & Strategy, Trade
Staying the Course in Troubled Waters: India’s Priorities for the 2026 BRICS Summit
India takes the chair of BRICS for the fourth time on 1 January 2026. The official theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, isn’t just branding. It is a direct echo of what Prime Minister Modi laid out in Rio last July: give BRICS a new form, centre it on the Global South, keep it oriented to people-first, and focus on practical cooperation. In today’s fragmenting world, that message lands differently. Great power competition is sharpening, supply chains are snapping, and the scramble for critical minerals has acquired strategic urgency. India’s presidency has a chance to turn this expanded platform into a bridge, not a barricade.